Stranger Bubbles

And with a gently yet ever so powerful gust, the solution morphed itself into a convex form. It quickly melded its nonexistent edges into a spherical figure. Then subscribing to gravity and the soft, warm breeze, the sphere floated amidst the amalgam of like silhouettes. Each of the shapes were bound in close quarters while never seeming to impede on one another.

Walking through Downtown Disney, I realized how peculiar it was that there were so many people around me yet I never even thought to engage with a single one. As everyone moved about in a mildly confined setting yet always seemed to find empty space to move our bodies to in any split second if need be, to avoid the realization that we were all together and present in like moments. If one were watching me meander my way through the crowd from above, I’d look much like a dancer twisting and turning my body as inner melodies swam through my veins. I’d stop when inaudibly deemed necessary in order to avoid collision, jolt my shoulder to the left to let myself squeeze into a space not broad enough for my shoulders, speed up if my forward momentum seemed to match that of another robotic figure, or slow when a once barreling barrier turned into a leisurely liquid. I felt like a hummingbird, zipping to and fro in jagged lines while leaving a track that was far from organic. I wanted nothing more than to mind my business in my own invisible, nonexistent space while simultaneously adhering to the chaos amongst me.

The fragile figures elegantly swayed in diverging directions as they began to slowly yet swiftly disintegrate into the atmosphere. Silhouettes once bound so tight together, though never having melded to one another in the slightest degree, scattered out of sight only until permanently disappearing and to never be heard from again.

As she rashly poked my right shoulder, I hurriedly jolted around. She had startled my intangible force field, which held me captive from the rest of my environment. I was reminded that we all existed on the same reel of reality in that very instant. Rare was it that another being would stop to talk or inquire about someone around them. If self-erected barriers accidentally collided with one another, all that could be heard were muttered, uncomfortable expressions such as I’m so sorry, Excuse me, Pardon me, Oh, my bad, but never a hello or how are you. There were so many stories buzzing around me, though I never felt obliged to open beyond the cover. Upon nearing the exit, I became aware of the many chariots awaiting departure. The once ramped waves of bodies had soothed into a still, steady stream of figures whom were a product of osmosis, each particle finding room within larger allocations of space. Soon enough, each being had found themselves in a means of transportation and began to repeat the process of indifferently funneling in and out of confined spaces, until ultimately reaching home base.

As air bellows at a wand to form a singular bubble, masses of them materialize from the opposing side. They all begin as one and then slowly sprinkle themselves into the air until soon liquidating themselves, never to be seen again. Not often is it that you see any of the pockets of air merging together or caroming off one another. I noticed this to be much like the people around me while I was in Downtown Disney by myself the other night to watch the fireworks. There are so many people around you, all of the same species, yet we go out of our way to avoid interaction of any sorts. How bizarre is it that we can be so physically intimate with strangers and never take the time to read their story or to simply inquire about their day? It is so easy to become submissive to societal implications that we should stay in our own personal space and mind our own business, so much so that we don’t dare step outside of ourselves to get to know the people around us. There are so many strangers enveloping our every day lives but how frequently do you take the time to simply say hello or ask someone how their day is? I make it my goal to decrease my ability to call so many of those around me by the name of stranger.